Had to beg Rani to take up Kuch Kuch: Karan Johar

That Karan Johar had a really tough time bringing actors on board for Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) is quite well known to everyone. And it wasn’t until eight actresses had rejected him that Karan finally found his Tina Malhotra in Rani Mukerji.

Recalling the struggle, Karan, who was speaking at an event in Mumbai, said, “I had a lot of trouble casting for Tina’s (Rani Mukerji) part in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. I had approached eight heroines and no one agreed (for the role). I had given a romantic narration but no one responded. I felt like a beggar.” He even joked that he had thought of wearing a short skirt and doing Rani’s role himself in the film if no one had agreed to do it.

Rani wasn’t the only one that Karan had to ‘beg’. Apparently, the ace-director also had trouble convincing actors to take up Aman Mehra’s role (played by Salman Khan). “Even for Salman’s part in the movie, I had to search a lot. Finally it all happened,” he added.

Earlier, on a dance reality show, Karan had revealed how he was all out of options after Saif Ali Khan, who was originally supposed to play Aman Mehra, walked out. After knocking on several doors, the director approached Salman, who signed the film without even reading the complete script, just for the sake of Karan’s father, Yash Johar.